Oregon’s exports have jumped 25% in the first nine months of 2010, helping boost the state’s economy out of the recession.
Oregon’s exports have jumped 25% in the first nine months of 2010, helping boost the state’s economy out of the recession.
Most of the growth came in Asia, particularly Malaysia (now the state’s second largest trading partner) and China.
High tech exports led the way.
Exports to China, Oregon’s largest customer by far, shot up 50 percent compared with the first nine months of last year, exceeding $3 billion. High-tech goods led the export surge.
The big increases would be more impressive if they weren’t coming off a low base, what with depressed exports last year due to the global recession. But economists and trade experts say strong export growth is especially encouraging for Oregon, where other key sectors languish amid 10.6 percent unemployment.
“From a Northwest perspective, this is good stuff, this is one of our strengths,” said Portland economist John Mitchell. “The recovery’s a year and a quarter old. We’re not moving towards it, we’re in it. It’s just frustratingly slow.”
Read more at OregonLive.com.
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